Fayette CASA Angel Tree lighting kicks off holiday season, highlights need for more volunteers

McBrayer Law Firm Managing Member James H. Frazier III high-fives CASA of Lexington Executive Director Melynda Jamison during the 2024 Fayette County CASA Angel Tree lighting at McBrayer.

Dozens of people from the Lexington community came to downtown Lexington Friday to get an early start on the holiday season by lighting the CASA Angel Tree.

Lexington Vice Mayor Dan Wu, who serves as a CASA volunteer, had the official honor of lighting the tree at McBrayer Law Firm, which has hosted the lighting all 21 years it has happened. The event gives people a way to brighten the end of the year for abused and neglected children who need someone to buy them gifts.

Children on the tree have open family court cases and are served by CASA volunteers, who visit them regularly and advocate for their best interests.

“We are here today to light this CASA Angel Tree and bring some much-needed light and happiness to children, many of whom have suffered more in their few short years of life than many of us will in our lifetimes,” said Melynda Jamison, Executive Director of CASA of Lexington.

People chose children’s names from the tree and received their wish lists so they could go shopping for gifts for them. The gifts will be brought to CASA of Lexington, and CASA volunteers will then deliver them to the children’s caretakers in time to be wrapped for Christmas or any other holiday being celebrated in the home.

James H. Frazier III, Managing Member of McBrayer, said the law firm involves itself in many charitable causes, but CASA tops the list.

“It means a lot to everybody,” he said. “We have 222 envelopes on the tree this year. Let’s show up.”

Wu said he wound up going through training and becoming a CASA volunteer at the same time he was elected to office. He was concerned about having too much on his plate, but he found the time commitment of 5-10 hours a month for a CASA volunteer to be “very manageable.”

Wu said the children CASA volunteers serve are facing a lot of challenges and often don’t have someone showing up consistently and always being in their corner.

“Our job as CASAs is really just to be there, to show up, to be there for that kid,” he said.

In the first 20 years of the Fayette County CASA Angel Tree program, community members have purchased gifts for 2,481 children. Once all children on this year’s tree get their gifts, that number will be 2,703.

Jamison said that’s a remarkable achievement by the Fayette County community. She pointed out that almost 900 Fayette children suffered known abuse or neglect in 2023, the county is on-track to see an increase in that number in 2024.

There are currently only enough CASA volunteers to serve about 20% of children in the system. Jamison encouraged anyone with a heart for helping kids in need to consider becoming a CASA volunteer.

The next in-person training class for new CASA volunteers begins Jan. 9 and a full schedule is available at www.casaoflexington.org/training. Online training classes are available, as well.

For more information about the CASA Angel Tree program, visit www.casaoflexington.org/angeltree.